Oswald Cobblepot

Before he became his alter ego, the Penguin, he went by his given name Oswald Cobblepot. Various narratives of his early years have been told, among them, how Oswald turned to a life of crime after neighborhood bullies killed every single animal in a pet shop his mother owned. In another account, his mother insisted that Oswald carry an umbrella with him at all times, for fear that he would fall victim to the same fate as his father, who died from pneumonia. Yet the common denominator remained the same, a childhood riddled by incessant teasing slowly ebbed away any goodness he had left and helped pave the road to a life of crime and evil.

Decked out in a tuxedo, top hat and wielding an umbrella, the Penguin made his debut at an art gallery where he bumped into Batman and Robin. Little did the Dynamic Duo know, he had stolen and smuggled a pair of priceless paintings into the hollow handle of his umbrella. After joining one of the biggest racketeers in the city, he embarked on a spree of robberies. When word leaked that he and the gang were hitting up the Stahl auction house to steal a jade idol, Batman arrived on the scene to thwart their thieving plans. But the Penguin, who anticipated his presence, gassed him with a trick umbrella and framed Batman for stealing the jade idol. As police arrested Batman and drove him away, a car driven by Penguin’s men careened right into their police vehicle to break out Batman and make it appear that he truly was guilty. Despite being tied up at Penguin’s home, Batman was able to communicate to Robin via Morse Code and the Boy Wonder rescued him. Together they were able to bust another stolen jewelry attempt. As Batman gave chase to the dirty bird, the Penguin fled on an express train and managed to escape.